5 youths caught allegedly shoplifting

Jamie Nash

Published 6:00 pm, Tuesday, December 13, 2005

The Conroe Police Department arrested four juveniles and one young adult after they allegedly tried to shoplift 135 items valued at $834.07 from the Conroe Wal-Mart, located at 1407 N. Loop 336 W., Saturday. Police believe the group was working together.

Loss prevention officers contacted the Police Department while the suspects were still in the store. Two already had been apprehended and three more still were shopping, according to Conroe Police Sgt. Bob Berry. Berry said it is unusual to arrest four juveniles at one time for shoplifting. The juveniles included a 12-year-old girl, a male and female who were both 13 and a 15-year-old female. The fifth suspect is Sandra Venitta Tolbert, 18, who was "the ring leader," Berry said.

Berry said some members of the group were related.

Tolbert was arrested and taken to the Montgomery County Jail, charged with theft of property greater than $5 and less than $1,500, a Class A misdemeanor. She also was charged with engaging in organized crime, a fourth-degree felony. Tolbert faces up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $4,000 for the theft charge and up to two years confinement and a maximum fine of $10,000 for the felony charge. The four minors were transported to the Montgomery County Juvenile Detention facility.

Berry said the group entered the store around 3:45 p.m. Saturday then separated. Loss prevention officers called police at 4:45 p.m., saying they had two shoplifters detained and three others remained inside browsing and concealing items.

"They reported watching the two of the juveniles take the items they gathered into the shoe department, where they stuffed them into bags," Berry said. "Afterward, they tried to walk out of the store with the merchandise by going through the garden center door, bypassing all cash registers."

The officers stopped and detained them, then contacted the police. They continued to watch the remaining three, who were allegedly gathering merchandise and unaware that two of their accomplices were being held and the Conroe Police Department was outside the store waiting for their exit.

Loss prevention officers told police the other three members of the group concealed some merchandise and some was left out as if they intended to pay for it.

"They eventually went to the holiday section where they stuffed most of the items in bags," Berry said, "One of them went through a register and checked out, paying for a T-shirt."

"The frequency of group crime among juveniles is increasing," said Ron Leach, director of juvenile probation for Montgomery County. His department handles juveniles ages 10-16.

Leach said the Wal-Mart incident was unusual because of the ages of the shoplifters.

"It's very uncommon to see a 12-year-old," he said. "The average juvenile shoplifter is a 15-year-old girl."

He said juvenile shoplifting is seasonal.

"We see more when school is out for the summer, usually several per week," Leach said. "Activity also picks up at Christmas."

He said officers have the option of releasing juveniles to their parents and issuing a promise to appear.

Leach said in the northern part of the county, Wal-Mart seems to be the store most targeted by young shoplifters; whereas in the southern part of the county, the mall is more popular. He said most of the items stolen by children are for personal use.

"The most commonly stolen items are clothes, makeup and jewelry," he said.

However, he said there have been a couple of instances involving juveniles taking thousands of dollars in pharmacy items to ship to their homes in South America. Surprisingly, they were mostly antacids, he said.

"They weren't local," he said. "They were just passing through and got caught."

In his 12 years on the job, Leach said most juveniles caught shoplifting are not caught a second time. The county has taken measures to increase those odds.

"With our department a few years ago, we saw significant numbers of kids shoplifting," Leach said. "We now have a program that's an option for first-time offenders and their parents."

He said it teaches the offenders the three realities of shoplifting, which are that they will be arrested, they will have a criminal record until age 21 and consumers will have to pay for their theft because costs will be passed on by the storeowner.

Leach said parents are required to attend if the juvenile takes that option. They are taught to watch what their children have.

"If a child starts wearing new clothes or has new CDs and you don't know where they came from, ask questions," he said.

Leach said people become pessimistic because the number of juveniles arrested continues to increase, but he said that is part of the growth process.

"With roughly 50,000 kids in this county and growing, there are more stores opening and crime is going to increase."

Tolbert was released on two personal recognizance bonds. One was for $1,000 for the misdemeanor, and the bond for the felony charge was set at $2,000.